Festival of Fantasy Parade Return Date Revealed!

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

Exciting news coming out of Disney! After the long-anticipated wait, we have finally learned the return date for the beloved “Festival of Fantasy” Parade at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park!

We previously shared the big news that Disney would be returning the fan-favorite parade to Magic Kingdom Park once again. Along with the news of the Festival of Fantasy Parade returning in 2022, Disney also shared that other experiences such as Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would be making a comeback, along with a reimagined Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Festival of Fantasy Parade

Don’t wait to grab those Magic Kingdom Park Passes as Disney has announced, “As you may know, that’s not the only much-anticipated offering coming to the parade route. I’m so excited to share that the beloved Disney “Festival of Fantasy” Parade returns to Magic Kingdom Park beginning March 9 – the anniversary of the debut of the parade in 2014!” 

Festival of Fantasy Parade

We love that the parade is returning on its anniversary! Disney continues to share the excitement of Festival of Fantasy’s return with:

“Dazzling guests since its debut, the Disney “Festival of Fantasy” Parade features beloved characters from “The Princess and the Frog,” “Tangled,” “Peter Pan” and more bringing their individual stories to life on enchanting floats that look as though the characters themselves had a hand in crafting them. Looming 26 feet above the parade route and 35 feet in length, the fire-breathing Maleficent Dragon float returns just as menacing as ever. We’re delighted to have this show-stopping beauty be a part of our glittering assemblage.“

YES! You read that right! The stunning Maleficent Dragm float WILL return despite previous rumors that it was gone for good.

Festival of Fantasy

It’s A Small World Dolls Never Stop Moving

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

After hearing last year about the haircuts that the small world dolls get each year, here is now another “creepy” piece of information about the long time running, It’s a Small World dolls.

According to this video from The Mouselets, the adorable little dolls inside the attraction are never allowed any downtime. We’ve heard rumors over the years that the music from the attraction never stops playing: that the iconic Sherman Brothers’ “It’s a Small World After All” plays on a loop 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

@themouselets

this is actually so creepy to think about #disneyworld #disneysecrets #disneyparks #disneyfacts #disneyhistory #disneystorytime #disneyyoutube #disney

♬ It’s a Small World – Christmas Party Music

The creator of this video, however, says that the music actually does stop at the end of the night. She says the lights inside the attraction are also turned out. However, she says that the little dolls representing countries from all over the globe never stop dancing. The can-can girls keep can-canning, the hot air balloon pilots keep floating, and the whole chorus keeps singing (minus the music and the words). Imagine all the clicking and clacking you’d hear!

Can you imagine walking into the building that houses the “it’s a small world” attraction while it’s completely dark and completely quiet, except for the tiny sounds of the mechanisms inside the dolls, allowing them to move and dance, even with no music?

The prospect sounds a bit unsettling at best! We’re just thankful we don’t have to walk the attraction at night. We love the ride, but that kind of thing might just be the stuff of nightmares!

Disney Guest Sticks Arm Under “it’s a small world” Boat

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

If you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort chances are you understand at least the core basic rules. One of these rules… keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs INSIDE the attraction vehicle at all times. In this case, one Disney Guest broke this most basic rule.

When you follow Disney bloggers closely, it’s not uncommon to see things posted that make you go, “WHAT?” For example, just recently, we shared an angry Guest having a total and complete meltdown over a Cast Member moving her stroller. We’ve also seen a young Guest decide to get out of a Splash Mountain boat. And let’s not forget about the woman that jumped out of the Living With the Land boat for a cucumber!

Over at Disneyland Resort, someone made the decision to stick their arm under the boat while on the nostalgic “it’s a small world” attraction. Take note that it has been deemed very dangerous to put any body parts below a moving Disney boat or vehicle. The attractions are sometimes on tracks and yes, you can lose a finger or more if you’re not careful. If you don’t hurt yourself under the boat, you could also get your arm crushed against the wall.

it's a small world holiday

We aren’t sure if it was the “it’s a small world” song that got to this Disney Guest or just poor judgment, but @kellykoby took to TikTok to share a viral video. She notes, “It’s not that hard to follow the rules #disney #disneyland #wdw #disneyparks #itsasmallworld #nobigdeal #why”. The video now has over 44,00 views with comments to follow. Check out the video below or find it here:

@kellykoby

It’s not that hard to follow the rules 😅 #disney #disneyland #wdw #disneyparks #itsasmallworld #nobigdeal #why

♬ original sound – Kelly Kobayashi

Thankfully, the man continues to enjoy his Disney vacation and pulls his arm out without any problems. But, the comments on this video are as entertaining as one would expect.

One comment makes Little Mermaid jokes with, “His hand went under the sea” with another saying “He’s talking some Disney magic with him.” One commenter relates to the situation with “I’ve done that on pirates of the Caribbean and a lady came on the intercom I was cracking up and fully embarrassed.”

Angry Guest Makes a Scene Over Stroller at Magic Kingdom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

If you’ve ever visited a Disney Park with children, chances are you are well aware that at times the Disney experience can be extremely stressful. With crowds everywhere, sweets galore, juggling the Disney Genie, and the excitement of attractions around every corner, some children react with melt-downs to the experience. Or… in this case… a grown woman.

When visiting Walt Disney World Resort with children young enough to be in strollers, you’ll want to be aware of Disney’s rules for using strollers at the Disney Parks. There are select places throughout the Park known as “Stroller Parking”. There are plenty of signs and Cast Members assigned to these areas. Especially at Magic Kingdom, you’ll find the need to ditch your stroller multiple times as young children can enjoy several Magic Kingdom rides.

Once you put your stroller into stroller parking, chances are it will be moved up or down the rows as needed. The Cast Member assigned to the area is responsible for alleviating stroller traffic jams and filling in all the parking holes as needed. It’s not uncommon when one stroller leaves its parking spot, Cast Members may shift the strollers in the row down to fill in the hole. This means when your ride is finished and you’re ready to go, you may have to hunt a little for your stroller.

Stroller Parking

Or, say you don’t follow the stroller parking signs and put your stroller wherever you’d like. In this case, a Cast Member will likely find your stroller and move it into a stroller parking space nearby. If Cast Members didn’t do this, there would be strollers sitting around the Parks in all sorts of random places.

Well, this Disney Guest, unfortunately, was not thrilled a Cast Member moved her stroller. She decided to make a scene in the middle of Fantasyland which looks like it is near Peter Pan’s Flight and “it’s a small world”. It seemed like her goal was to yell loud enough to make sure everyone was aware of just how unhappy she was.

Stroller sign

The video went viral on TikTok when @maddieisraddie posted the video noting, “karen has MASSIVE freakout at disneyworld #karen #disneyworld #karensoftiktok”. TikTok fans comment in support of the Cast Member with how over the top this Disney Guest acted when her stroller was moved. Check out the video below, or find it here:

@maddieisraddie

karen has MASSIVE freakout at disneyworld #karen #disneyworld #karensoftiktok

♬ original sound – maddie kowalski

With young kids, we’ve had our stroller shifted within the stroller parking lots several times and it does take a minute to find yours if it’s not a stroller that stands out in color (or has a balloon tied to it). But, with that said, while it may cause a moment of “where is it?”… it’s in no way something to panic or have a meltdown over.

The best part is that comments to the video are flooding in with support for “Shawn”, the Cast Member. One comment notes, “If someone knows Shawn please let me know, I’d like to buy him dinner! 100% serious.” Another comment says, “She’s filming him as if she’s the one in the right.” Plus more love for Shawn is shared with “We love Shawn” and “Shawn is a saint.”

Stroller Parking

While we don’t have confirmation from Disney on what happened to the angry Disney Guest, one comment to the video claims, “From what I understand she was caught by security and declared trespassed which means she and her family is banned for life from ALL Disney Parks.”

Power outage at Magic Kingdom leaves some Guests in the dark

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Twitter and Instagram were alive last night as users tweeted and posted about a power outage at Magic Kingdom that left many in the dark, even if only temporarily.

Local news station FOX News 35 in Orlando confirmed the outage, saying it was first noticed around 6:00 p.m. All power was completely restored before 10:00 p.m. local time, and doesn’t seem to have affected every area of the theme park. However, according to reports, the outage was seen and felt aboard the Walt Disney World monorail system, on the ferryboats, and at some areas inside the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.

@DoleWhip71 tweeted this video, saying several of the Magic Kingdom Resorts were without power.

According to a tweet from @dizhiz65, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge was affected by the power outage.

“[I] walked up to the reception desk and asked them, ‘Are you guys aware that the ladies’ restroom is out?’ and they said, ‘Oh yeah, there’s a lot of areas that are out right now,” she explained in a video call with FOX News 35.

Bartlett said the loss of power also affected Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. She shared that the areas affected went dark at approximately 6:00 p.m. last night, but that by 10:00 p.m., power was restored, and everything was up and running. When the power did come back on, Bartlett says Guests began to cheer, presumably signaling their relief and their thankfulness for the restoration.